Window bracket



Jan. 9, 1934 w. H. SCHMITT ,665

WINDOW BRACKET Filed April 4, 1929 FTIEEW.

Patented Jan. 9, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT oFicE 9 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in brackets for holding suspended outer windows such as storm windows rigidly and non-rattling at any desired open position. The main object is to provide a simple, efiicient, inexpensive folding type of bracket including certain knee bracket construction, attaching and detaching features as hereinafter fully set forth, and further distinct improvements of construction over the features contained in my application for United States Patent Serial Number 272,08, filed April 23, 1928.

In the accompanying drawing:-

Fig. 1 is a perspective view looking toward the right side lower part of a window frame, and a storm window held with its lower end away from the frame by one of my improved brackets.

Fig. 2 is an edge view of my device shown in Fig. 1 but in a lowered position preparatory to looking the storm window, the dotted line posi tion indicating locked position.

Fig. 3 is a face view or elevation, in enlarged scale, of the inner arm member of my device.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the knee joint of my window brace, exposing the non-rotating pivot means.

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional detail of the inner bracket arm, as on line 55 in Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertically central section of the center part of my stile plate as at line 6-6 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is an end detail of my inner bracket arm modified, and Fig. 8 is a face View of the central part of the stile plate of modified construction to be pivotally engaged by the type of arm shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a sectional view as on line 9-9 in Fig. 8, showing the arm member of Fig. '7 pivotally engaged.

Fig. 1G is an enlarged detail view of the inner end of my inner bracket arm pivotally engaging the stile plate and including a lock-member for said arm, this view showing a preferred pivotal and detachable connection.

Fig. 11 is a top view of my stile plate in modified form and in enlarged scale.

Fig. 12 is an exploded fragmentary perspective view of the bracket arm joint, the nut having been omitted.

Referring to the drawing by reference numerals, l2 designates a window sill and 13 is a vertical side member or stile of the window frame. In said stile 13 is fixed a vertical spacing strip 14 against which a storm window 15 is placed when closed, said storm window being assumed as pivotally suspended from its upper edge and in Fig. 1 shown with its lower edge pushed out from the closed position, or in other words in open position to admit air freely into a room. The vertical side frame member of either side of the storm window is designated 15A. Only one of my storm window brackets is shown, the right hand one, it being understood that the brackets are provided in pairs, one right and one left, and which are counterparts.

My bracket comprises a foldable knee-brace of two pivotally connected parts, an inner arm 16 and an outer arm 17, the latter suitably pivoted at its outer extremity, as at 18, in a metal window member 19 secured as at 20 to the inner face of the storm window side member 15A at a predetermined distance from the bottom of said window. The said arm members are adapted to fold up parallel to each other on a vertical plane, the inner end of the inner arm having certain, pivot means detachably connected with a stile plate 21 7 fixed by suitable means, as screws 22, to the window frame spacing strip 14 or similar part.

The knee brace members are therefore permanently connected with the storm window, detachable from the window frame and foldable to occupy a minimum of space at the inner side of the storm window when the latter is removed from the window.

The arm 16-17 have a certain type of adjustable friction hinge connection comprising two like round head parts 16H-17l-I, spaced apart by a suitable friction element 23 which is preferably a washer of tough fibrous material, such as commercial fiber, or a compressible spring metal washer may be used (not shown). 24 is a special type adjustable bolt for the joint described, and may have a rivet-head from which extends a square shank 24S passing through a round aperture 16A in head 16H thence through the friction element 23 and through a square aperture 17A in head 17H and projecting slightly from said latter aperture. From said square shank the bolt is continued and threaded as 24T I for engagement with a nut 25 having a recessed face 25F to bear against the adjacent face of head 17H but clearing the square shank 24S, as best shown in Fig. 4. Thus the bolt 24 is rigid and turns only with head 17H and the nut 25 can be tightened to cause the head of the bolt to draw the heads 16H--17H toward each other and clamp the friction element 23 as tight as desired for a purpose presently to be described.

The inner end of knee brace member 16 is provided with an aperture 26 topivotally engage a stationary pin 27 projecting from an offset central part 21A of the stile plate 21. Said pin 27 is provided with a circular groove 27G at its inner free end to be frictionally engaged by means on arm 16, which in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5 is a spring metal sleeve 28 slidable on the bar and having two parallel forwardly directed fingers 28F to engage opposite parts of the groove 27G just outwardly of the adjacent face of bar 16. 16N indicates a pair of opposite notches in bar 16 near its pivot aperture 26 and 28A indicates cpposite fingers on the slide 28, both bearing inwardly. Being of spring material fingers 28A will snap into notches 16N when the slide is pushed toward pivot 26 and when the fingers 28F engage pin 27. The slide must of course be forced back from said latter position when it is desired to remove arm 16 from its pivot engagement with the pin 27.

A more desirable form of pivot catch is shown in Fig. comprising an elongated flat springmetal locking member 29 pivoted at to bar 16 and in spaced relation to aperture 26 of said bar. The face end of said lcck has a side opening curved slat 29S concentric of pivot 30 and spaced therefrom so as to frictionally engage the grooved part 27G of pin 27 of the stile plate, the tongue 291 thus formed outwardly of the groove being preferably curved away from its common plane and bar 16, at its extremity, to prevent accidental disengagement from pin 27 (see Fig. 10). Obviously this curved end must be pressed down to permit member 29 to be swung clear from engagement with the pin 27, as to the dotted line position of member 29 shown in said Fig. 10.

In Figs. 7, 8 and 9, I have illustrated a modified form of the inner end of bar 16 and pivotal engaging means therefor in the stile plate 21. This consists of forming the extremity of the bar in a transverse T-shape with the head part of said T parallel to the main plane of the bar and said T designated as 16T. This member 1ST is normally in vertical plane when the bar 16 extends horizontally and with the storm window held outwardly in outermost position. The stile plate is provided in its raised or offset part 21A with a correspondingly shaped aperture, 31, which may be termed a double key-hole slot through which the said T-shaped member 16T may be passed only when the bar 16 is horizontal. Therefore the bars l6--l7 can of course only be removed from the stile when bar 16 is horizontal but when the said bar is in any other position it is pivotally retained by the head part of said T-shaped member bearing against the inner surface of the stile-plate in its offset part 21A (see Fig. 9).

I will now describe the operation of my improved window bracket and further details of the construction of the stile plate involved in said operation. It may be assumed that the device is in a position holding the storm window at extreme outer position (as in Fig. 1) and that either the type of bar 16 shown in Figs. 7-10 inclusive or the type of bar 16 shown in Figs. 1-6 inclusive are pivotally connected to the stile plate. Bar 1'7 may be extended inwardly of its joint 24 and formed with an. inwardly directed finger engaging hook 17F (Figs. 1-2).

The knee joint bars 16-17 are prevented from reaching a straight line by a transverse finger 16F formed on the forward extremity of head 1611 (see Figs. 1 and 3) preferably on. the center line of bar 16 extended forward of pivot 2 1-, said finger being engaged by and stepping against the edge of bar 17, as best shown in Fig. 3. It will be understood that the arms 16 and 17 are of corresponding length,referring to their pivoted parts, and thus when the device is bent down at 24 the operator grasps the finger holds 17F and bears down until both arms 16-17 are parallel and extend vertically down from pivot 27, the storm window being of course brought inwardly by this action, to closed position and pivot 18 is brought into alinement with said pivot 27 (see Fig. 2). From thislatter (lowered) position of the two arms 1617 they are swung inwardly and upwardly with the two alined pivots 18 and 27 acting as a single pivot until the two arms are brought up together to approximately vertical position above said common pivot 18-27 (see dotted line position Fig. 2) and are removably retained in said upper position by fixed parts of the stile plate which will now be described.

Above pivot pin 27 of the stile plate the latter is formed with two vertically spaced integral fingers bent outwardly from the plate and rigid, said fingers being spaced horizontally also, the lower and outer one designated as 2113 and the upper and inner one as 21 C (see Figs. 1 and 2). Both project from the plate about the same distanceand in swinging the knee-bracket members 1617 to upper position the latter are sprung to permit them to pass the finger 21C, then released to spring to normal upright position so that opposed edge parts of said members are engaged byadjacent parts of the fingers 21B and 210, thus retaining the bracket between them in upright position, holding the pins 18 and 27 in alinement and positively holding the storm window in closed position.

It is obvious that in the above described closing manipulation the knee-joint pivot 2 1 travels in the are designated 33 in Fig. 1.

Releasing of the parts to open the storm window is just the reverse of the operation for closing above described, the outward movement and extension of the bars 16-17 being limited only by the stop or finger 16F.

The modification of knee-brace holding means shown in Fig. 11 involves the omission of finger 21B of the stile plate and changing of the shape of finger 210 which in this view is designated as 210. Said finger extends first at right angles from the forward side of the stile plate, thence parallel thereto and terminating in a short flange 21C" directed toward plate 21, thus forming an inwardly opening pocket 34 into which the kneebrace 16-17 is freely admitted and retained until said brace is removed manually. The dot ed outlines 1617 in said Fig. 11 indicate the kneebrace being swung into the pocket to be retained in upright position above their common pivot 1827.

In the above specification the construction and operation of my window bracket has been fully disclosed. A number of modifications in detail and proportions of various parts may be emdodied without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. For example in Fig. 2, 24R is a rivet clamping the friction element 23 between the connected arms 16l7 and said 3 parts are thus frictionally connected with a predetermined amount of friction. With the construction of joint particularly clearly shown in Fig. 4 it is obvious that the friction may be varied at will or as wear occurs on the parts by merely adjusting the nut 25.

In Fig. 1, a friction washer 23 is also shown inserted between bracket 19 and outer end of bar 1'? and frictionally retained by rivet 18, insuring a non-rattling condition at this point, and when the knee brace is disconnected from the window frame it is simply folded up and held against the side bar of the storm window rigidly during storage or shipping.

I claim:

1. In a bracket device for pivotally suspended windows normally in closed position in a window frame and between vertical side members of the latter, a foldable knee brace device at each side of the window and comprising two bars, one an outer and one an inner bar, pivotally connected to each other in an adjustable continuous friction joint, the other end of said outer bar pivotally connected. to a window bracket secured in a vertical side member of said window means, a stile plate fixed to the window frame, a pivot pin projecting therefrom and adapted to be pivotally and removably engaged by the inner bar, said pivot in the window bracket and the pivot pin in the stile plate equi-distant from the said friction joint and arranged to be in horizontal alinement when the window is closed, and the knee brace members simultaneously in parallel relation to each other and extending vertically below said alined pivots, the said knee brace bars adapted thence to be swung as a common lever on their alined common pivot, together and up to vertical position above said pivot, and staggered projecting means on the stile plate above said pivot pin for removably retaining said parallel bars in the said upward position.

2. In a bracket device for pivotally suspended windows normally in closed position in a window frame and between vertical side members of the latter, a foldable knee brace device at each side of the window and comprising two bars, one an outer and one an inner bar, pivotally connected to each other in an adjustable continuous friction joint, the other end of said outer bar pivotally connected to a window bracket secured in a vertical side member of said window means, a stile plate fixed to the window frame, a pivot pin projecting therefrom and adapted to be pivotally and reniovably engaged by the inner bar, said pivot in the window bracket and the pivot pin in the stile plate edui-distant from the said friction joint and arranged to be in horizontal alinement when the window is closed, and the knee brace members simultaneously in parallel relation to each other and extendir; vertically below said alined pivots, the said knee brace bars adapted thence to be swung as a common lever on their alined coninion pivot, together and up to vertical position above said pivot, and staggered projecting means on the still plate above said pivot pin for removably retaining said parallel bars in the said upward position, said knee brace bars adapted to be swung outwardly from the window frame and spread the bars toward alinement, and said friction joint adapted to hold the said bars in rigid relation to each other with the window in selective outward position, means limiting the outward spreading movement of the bars, and finger engaging means coinnrising a hook formed integral- 13,1 of the outer bar and adjacent said friction joint.

3. The structure specified in claim 1 in which said connected friction joint parts of the knee race bars comprises at said connected ends a round aperture in one bar and a polygonal aperture in the other bar, a pivot bolt with corresponding polygonal shank extending through and rotatable in said round aperture but slidably tted into said polygonal aperture, a friction washer interposed in said joint and about the shank of said bolt, said latter bolt comprising a threaded part extending from the polygonal part and an adjustment nut on said threaded part with a recessed face to engage the face of the adjacent knee brace member for the purpose described.

4. The structure specified in claim 1, said staggered means comprising an integral projecting tongue near the common pivot and located at the outer edge of the stile bracket to be positively engaged as a stop by both lever arms simultaneously when the latter are swung to vertical position, and an outer projection on said stile plate near its inner edge, both projections spaced apart horizontally to positively hold the two bars therebetween simultaneously in vertical position.

5. The structure specified in claim 1 in which said pin of the stile bracket is grooved circularly near its free end, a metal sleeve slidable on the inner bracket bar and formed with two integral, parallel fingers adapted to frictionally and detachably engage on said grooved part of the pin by slidable adjustment of said sleeve on the bar, when said bar is journaled on said pin and the groove exposed exteriorly of the bar, and yieldable locking means on said sleeve.

6. A stile bracket of the character described comprising a plate-like body portion, a pivot pin projecting outwardly from said body portion and adapted to be reniovably engaged by a windowbracket bar, and staggered projecting means on said body portion above said pivot pin and adapted to receive a pair of window-bracket bars therebetween.

7. In combination with a window bracket for pivotally suspended windows comprising a pair of pivotally connected bars, a stile bracket comprising a flat body portion having an offset central part, a pivot pin extending outwardly from said offset part and adapted to be removably engaged by one of said bars, and a pair of spaced and staggered fingers bent outwardly from said body portion. and adapted to receive said bars therebetween.

8. A stile bracket of the character described comprising, a plate-like body portion, a pivot pin connection between said plate and a window bracket bar, and staggered projecting means on said body portion above said pivot pin connection and adapted to receive a pair of window bracket bars therebetween.

9. In. combination with a window bracket for pivotally suspended windows comprising a pair of pivotally connected arms, a stile bracket comprising a fiat body portion having an oifset central part parallel to flat body portion, a pivot pin connection between aid offset portion and one of said bars.

WILLIAM H. SCI-IMITT. 

